Chapter 21
Theo called us down to the temple library a couple of days later.
It seemed like someone from the inside had disabled the shields that usually protected the Lodge from unannounced guests, but they still hadn’t found the one responsible.
Either way, the shields were back up and there were guards in place to monitor them day and night.
Auretheos had invited the usual suspects to this meeting, including the Abbot and a female I did not recognize. She was beautiful, her skin a dark purple. Her hair was a light green, a stark contrast to her dark skin.
Theo introduced us and explained that her name was Thalora, Goddess of Oceans and Tides.
“It’s an honor to meet you,” she said to me and took my hands into hers. As she touched me, a picture of flowing water appeared before my eyes, and I could have sworn I felt the sea roaring in my ears. She smiled at me as she let go of my hand, the smell of salt lingered in the air.
“Thalora is one of the oldest Goddesses to still exist and she has seen many centuries come and go. She monitors the waters and has noticed a lot of activity in the north,” Theo explained.
She nodded and smiled. “Auretheos makes me sound ancient, but he is not wrong. The ship movements have increased in the north, making me think that someone is transporting weapons or people to the shores. My people are keeping an eye out for the Heralds or Ignara.”
“We have unsuccessfully tried to figure this out on our own, it’s time we get help. Thalora and I have been up all night and made the decision to call for a meeting of the Gods and Goddesses in Vhalyra,” Theo said.
The Abbot jumped up. “A conclave? This hasn’t been done in centuries! And the last time was a complete disaster!” he grumbled.
Malek chimed in. “Be that as it may, we need the support of everyone if we want to take down the Heralds. Plus, we need to know who is on our side and who is fighting with the Fraction.”
Theo nodded and presented us with an extensive list of who was supposed to be invited to the meeting. There were hundreds of Gods and Goddesses, most I had never heard of. The list also contained names of the representatives of each of the Faerie folk and creatures of this realm.
We spent the next few hours preparing invites, using our magic to copy the text onto the cards and embossing the envelopes with Auretheos’s seal. Everybody worked in silence, pondering over the significance of this meeting.
Lythandra came to sit next to me. “How are you holding up? Things are going to start moving fast from now on.”
I smiled. “I am all right, a little scared of this meeting to be honest. It’s bad enough having to face two or three actual Gods, but being in a room with all of them? Pfft…”
“Pishpash, they are only cooking with water too,” she said with a smile.
“What happened the last time a conclave was called?” I asked, referring to what the Abbot had said earlier.
“Oh, it was a mess. After we withdrew from the mortal world, we created this continent. Each God was supposed to have its own area, free to design the new home to their own wishes. Of course, it ultimately wasn’t as easy as that and fights ensued. Gods are like little babies sometimes.”
I smiled and tried to imagine the most powerful beings on this planet bickering over a piece of land or the placement of a mountain.
“But that wasn’t the worst of it. You see, Gods almost never get married. Very few do. Most of us might take occasional lovers, but nothing ever sticks. I guess it’s the thought of binding yourself to someone for actual eternity that freaks out most Gods.”
She scrunched her nose at that, obviously she was one of those who didn’t want that kind of commitment.
“But even though there are very few marriages, there are affairs and lovers and partners. And let’s just say, sometimes the meetings of the Gods are more like a wiener festival.
Orgies and partner swaps and whatever else you can imagine. ”
I nearly choked on my drink, I hadn’t expected that.
“You are joking, right?” I asked her while a laugh escaped me.
“No, totally being serious. So after one of the orgies, two or three Deities got their panties in a twist and chaos ensued. That’s why there hasn’t been a conclave ever since.”
Well, if I hadn’t been scared to go to the meeting before, I definitely was now.
* * *
It was late afternoon when we finally finished the invitations and we were all lounging on the sofas when the doors to the library opened and Lydia strolled in, back from her trip to Vhalyra, the capital.
“Well, well, well, I disappear for a few days and you all have nothing better to do than to get drunk in the library?” she drawled, but came closer to give us all a hug.
Well, save for Theo of course.
“I see you have already prepared the invites, I hope you have put the names of the recipients on it, because rumor has it that there are several names we can cross off our list.” Malek poured Lydia a drink and she started telling us about the assignment Theo had given her: To travel to the capital gauge the overall atmosphere there these days.
She had visited the bars of the city and she had spent several nights in the nightclubs that were frequented by the deities.
“Very little is known in the capital about what’s happening here or in the mortal realm,” she explained.
“So long as the Heralds won’t reach Aetheria, it seems like they don’t care all that much.
They think this problem mainly affects the humans and thus is none of their business.
” She sent me an apologetic look. “I also tried to find out which Gods have been absent from their usual spots in the past few months. It seems that there are quite a few deities who have suddenly gone rogue. Of course those rumors are just that, but I think it’s worth looking into. ”
She handed Theo a list of names then and he read them carefully.
Theo got to work straight away and cross-referenced the list to the one Lythandra had made of other Gods who had vocalized their displeasure about being pushed to the Gods realm before.
In the end, there were three names that stood out:
Meridion, The God of Trade and Prosperity
Vulkaron, The God of the Forge
Somnaris, the God of Dreams and Illusions
“Do you know them?” I asked Theo when he had read out their names to the group.
“I have met them in passing, but never had any close ties with either of them. As far as I know, there is no direct link that connects the three of them, their courts are far apart in the God realm and professionally there is no reason to assume that their paths cross regularly. I will pull up everything we know about them from the library, maybe this will give us a clue about what to expect,” Theo said.
“But for now, I think we should call it a day. Cae, can you make sure the invites get sent out tonight?”
The sentinel bowed slightly and left to take care of the letters.
Malek left as well, he was tasked with putting together a group of soldiers to guard the Lodge and the temple while we were going to the capital.
Lythandra and Thalora were tasked with traveling ahead to the city to speak to their friends and prepare them for the meeting of the Deities.
Lydia went straight to bed since she had had a long day traveling and so only me, the Abbot and Theo remained.
“I am going to start doing some research on these Gods, you are free to return to the Lodge,” Theo said.
I wanted to stay.
Should I stay?
Would he want me to?
Was I even going to be of any use at all?
Tap, tap, tap, tap.
Red for the roses, white for the veil, one to remember and one to betray.
Stay.
“I can’t sleep yet, do you want me to help?” I asked.
The Abbot looked tired, but he was watching us wearily. Before Theo could respond, he announced that he’d rather stay as well.
I glanced at Theo, the corner of his mouth twitching, as if he too couldn’t believe the Abbot was being this obvious.
Theo disappeared between the rows of books and every now and again a new book appeared on the table beside me.
Theo sorted them into two neat piles, the ones I could read and the ones who were written in foreign languages or old fonts which I couldn’t decipher.
I started scanning the pages for hints about the Gods in question, jotting down every piece of information, in case it was important.
Theo was about to sit down next to me when the Abbot called out from the other end of the room, “My lord, why don’t you come sit over here, so I can assist you better?”
Theo’s eyebrow rose up, and as he walked past me, he murmured, “You’re always getting me in trouble, wordsmith. Such a bad influence.” And I laughed, garnering me a scowl from the Abbot.
We worked in silence for an hour or two and my eyes were getting heavy.
The Abbot had fallen asleep in his chair, but Theo was scanning the pages in front of him at lightning speed.
Watching him was fascinating, the way his face tensed and relaxed when he found important information, the way he righted the glasses on his nose every now and then and his tongue that wet his lips in concentration.
I was still watching him when a piece of paper fell onto the page in front of me.
It was Theo’s handwriting, but he was still reading and focused on his task ahead.
“I can’t concentrate when you are watching me.”
How he could possibly know that I was watching him while reading? And how had he written that note without so much as looking up? I guess those were the advantages of being a God.
“I am bored, I mean who wrote these books?
Is it too much to ask to write a compelling story
rather than 400 pages describing the forest
around a certain castle?”
I folded up the paper. How was I going to get it to Theo now? As if by silent command, it disappeared in front of my eyes. Theo looked up then and winked at me. It took a minute or two and another note appeared in front of me.
“Don’t tell me this isn’t your idea of a fun night in?
What would you rather be doing?”
I looked over at him and smiled mischievously. He caught my gaze, and I heard him go “tsk tsk tsk” from across the room. The Abbot looked up at Theo, but he was staring at the book in front of him.
Another note appeared.
“Don’t even think about saying what you were about to say!”
I laughed softly.
“Well, I think I would like to go into town
and maybe go to a pub with some live music?
Have a few drinks, talk to my friends,
make fun of the couple next to us having a terrible first date.
Something like that.”
Theo shifted in his seat and swapped books, taking his time to respond.
I tried to concentrate on the book I was currently scanning for clues, but the pages started blurring before my eyes. Another note appeared.
“That sounds nice, I have never done that.
Maybe one day… You should go to sleep,
I can see your tired eyes from over here.
These books aren’t going anywhere,
they will still be here tomorrow night.”
I got up, my legs and back stiff, cleaning up my desk and putting my notepads and pencils back in a drawer before scribbling another note.
“That’s what I was afraid of,
the books will come to haunt me in my dreams.
Goodnight, nerd.”
He looked up and smiled.
“Goodnight, bad influence,” he said, and I left the library to find a sentinel to take me back to the Lodge.